Warning as Revenue & Customs scams hit a million

SCAMS involving fraudsters who claim to be from Revenue & Customs have doubled to a record high over the past 12 months – with more than a million cases reported.

Fraudsters email, text or phone their victims posing as employees from Revenue & Customs.

They claim victims are entitled to a fictitious rebate, or have an outstanding tax issue that needs to be resolved.

Fraudsters often provide a fictitious tax inspector name, identification details, case and warrant number to convince victims that they are genuine.

The ruse usually involves tricking victims into providing personal details such as full name, date of birth and address.

They then ask for bank details, perhaps by falsely claiming they are required to check a phoney tax glitch or make a rebate.

Once they have extracted these details, the fraudsters may go on to steal money from their victims’ bank accounts. A spokesman for Revenue & Customs says: ‘We do not ring out of the blue asking for personal details – or to threaten people with arrest.

‘Do not give any information, but contact us straight away to report what has happened if it is suspicious.’

As much as £53.7 million was lost last year to scams where fraudsters impersonate a company such as a phone or energy provider or a Government department, according to banking trade body UK Finance.

You can find details on how to report scams involving Revenue & Customs at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenuecustoms/contact/reportingfraudulent-emails